Q645 :In a series of articles by Dr. M. Hatham
Al-Khayat, the question of health was discussed, with quotations from
the Prophet, such as: “There shall be no infliction of harm on self or
others”, and “He who causes harm to others will be at the receiving end
of harm by God.” I believe that God has forbidden the use of alcohol,
as it is a substance unfit for consumption, and the cause of much
tragedy in this world. I applaud the Islamic prohibition of alcoholic
drinks. There are other addictive and harmful substances which,
paradoxically enough, seem to be permitted. The most glaring example of
this is tobacco. As you are well aware, tobacco is highly addictive and
extremely hazardous to health, not only of the smokers but of those
around him. It is no exaggeration to say that cigarettes kill. I am
curious to know why the principle of health protection is not applied
to tobacco and other addictive substances when it is applied to drugs
and alcohol.
A645 : Generally speaking, Muslim scholars are very
hesitant when they nete to issue a verdict of prohibition on anything.
This is largely due to the fact that the authority to forbid or
prohibit anything belongs to Allah alone. Moreover, He has given us a
detailed account of what He has forbidden us. There is a general rule
that everything is permissible, unless it is pronounced otherwise.
Therefore, you must have a very solid evidence in support of a verdict
of prohibition. As you realize, tobacco was not known at the time of
the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) when Islamic legislation was
revealed. It was not possible to include among what Allah has forbidden
a substance that was not known, saying that when this will be
available, it shall be forbidden. Instead, Islam lays down certain
principles which should be applied at all times. One of these is the
Hadith, or statement by the Prophet, which you have quoted from Dr.
Khayat’s articles, namely:” There shall be no infliction of harm on
self or others.” This is a very clear principle and applies to
everything that causes harm; whether to oneself or to other people. I
agree with you that tobacco is a harm causing substance. It has been
proven beyond any shred of doubt that the smoking of tobacco is very
harmful indeed. Tobacco smoke contains more than four thousand
substances, most of which are harmful. Indeed, 500 netpounds which are
available in tobacco smoke are classified as very harmful. Hence, it is
not surprising that tobacco is the major cause of lung cancer. Indeed,
90% of all cases of lung cancer are attributed to smoking. Moreover,
smoking causes many types of cancer including cancer of the lips, the
gums, the larynx and the bladder, and, in women cancer of the uterus.
It also causes chronic bronchitis and emphysema, as well as coronary
heart disease. Its effects, as you say, are not limited to the smoker.
Passive smoking, or the inhaling of tobacco smoke from other people’s
cigarettes, is also hazardous and causes the same list of diseases. As
such, smoking is a habit which is certain to cause harm. Other uses of
tobacco, such as chewing and sniffing, are likely to produce very
similar results. With such long list of diseases caused by the use of
tobacco, your statement that “cigarettes kill” is indeed correct. Now
what verdict would Islam pass on the use of tobacco? The answer is a
definite prohibition, although some scholars are still reluctant to do
so. May I say, however, that their reluctance is due to the fact that
they have not studied the subject thoroughly well. I am absolutely
certain that any scholar who studies the problem of smoking and the use
of tobacco properly will arrive at the same conclusion. I say this
advisedly. Dr. Al-Khayat, who is Director of Program Management at the
Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office in Egypt of the World Health
Organization [WHO], sought to have a definitive ruling on smoking and
the use of tobacco generally. He collaborated with Al-Azhar, the well
known seat of Islamic learning in Egypt. The WHO placed at the disposal
of Al-Azhar several scientific reports on the likely effects of the use
of tobacco and smoking. It sought a definitive ruling. Al-Azhar put
these reports at the disposal of ten of its scholars, seeking a ruling
from each one of them. All ten agree that Islam prohibits the use of
tobacco. Eight of the ten rulings were absolutely clear that smoking
and use of tobacco are forbidden from the Islamic point of view. The
other two say that the verdict ranges from “strongly reprehensible” to
“forbidden”. In the past, scholars used to say that smoking may be
discouraged or reprehensible, basing their argument on the fact that
tobacco gives a bad smell and that it is a waste of money which could
be more beneficially used in some other ways. As you realize, tobacco
is addictive. Faced with a large number of people who are addicted to
smoking, a governmental authority will be unwise to withdraw it from
the market immediately. That would lead to a vigorous smuggling
activity trying to get the substance into the country by illegal means.
The price will then rise considerably and a list of endless problems
will be encountered. Instead, a government should resort to a sustained
campaign of health education, seeking to make people clearly aware of
the risks they take when they smoke. At the same time, government
authorities should concentrate their efforts of health education at
schools, particularly on students at the age when they are most likely
to try smoking a cigarette. If this is coupled with a regular tax
increase to raise the price of cigarettes every two or three months,
then that is bound to reduce people’s desire to smoke. If all that is
coupled with a total ban on cigarettes advertising and other methods of
tobacco promotion, then we have the right strategy which may, in time,
lead us to a tobacco free society. We hope that the authorities will
undertake such an integrated approach to reduce the smoking pandemic.
Our Dialogue ( Source : Arab News – Jeddah )